NH firms gets grants to help export products

Monday

Dec 31, 2012 at 3:15 AM

CONCORD, NH – Dozens of companies from around New Hampshire will receive matching grants to help them explore export markets or boost their existing efforts.

In all, 35 companies received the awards from the federal Small Business Administration’s State Trade and Export Promotion (STEP) grant. In its second year, New Hampshire received nearly $300,000. Offered through the state’s International Trade Resource Center, the grant provides up to $5,000 per company, in a cash match. The STEP program encourages small to medium-sized Granite State companies to increase their exports and they can use the money to research overseas markets, obtain certifications to comply with trade regulations and take part in foreign sales missions.

“We had an overwhelming response from companies interested in international trade,” said Tina Kasim, program manager for the ITRC. “It shows us that many businesses are ready for expansion and this program provides that opportunity.”

U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, who helped to craft the STEP program through the Small Business Jobs Act, said exporting is a “tremendous opportunity” for small businesses, which are drivers of the economy.

“Over 95 percent of the world’s consumers live outside the United States, but only 1 percent of small businesses currently sell their products overseas,” she said. “Through the STEP grant, ITRC will be able to help New Hampshire businesses access new, fast-growing markets across the globe.”

Paul Dann, owner of Café Indigo in Concord, said that after seven years of growing his vegan bakery and eatery and getting into markets elsewhere around the country, he’s looking to expand north.

“We’d like to move our bakery sales to Canada and this grant has helped us decide to take this step,” he said. “It was something we were going to do next fall, but now we get to focus on the strategic planning. We are very excited.”

The companies receiving the grants are a mix of manufacturing, technology, services and food, Kasim said. They are using the money to do market research, investigate the cost of getting to the markets, translating websites and software and paying for booth space rentals at trade shows. Assisting them will be the US Commercial Service and the Granite State District Export Council.

“Without this kind of funding, it might have taken our small businesses a little bit longer to break into exporting,” Kasim said. “By increasing the sales of their products and services, they can grow and expand and offer more jobs.”

Companies receiving grant awards include:

-- Clearview Software, Amherst

-- Molecular Knowledge, Bedford

-- OLK12, Canterbury

-- Café Indigo; BittWare, Concord

-- Hydrocomp, Durham

-- Relyco; Eco-Touch ,Dover

-- Advanced Kiosks, Franklin

-- W.S. Badger, Gilsum

-- Sleepnet, Hampton

-- Altronics; Equipment Technologies, Hudson

-- New England Wire, Lisbon

-- Airmar Technology; Tech Resources, Milford

-- Greenerd Press; Image Expert; Axenics, Nashua

-- Sponge-Jet, Newington

-- Kasi Infrared, Newport

-- Continental Biomass Industries, Newton

-- Heron Point Seafood, Newmarket

-- Zakon Group, North Conway

-- Beede Electrical Instruments, Penacook

-- Nantucket Beadboard, Rochester

-- Corfin Industries; Good Leads; Innovative Foto, Salem

-- Ardent Concepts, Seabrook

-- Itaconix, Straham

-- Dwell Earth, Swanzey

-- Comptus, Thornton

-- Pro-Cut, West Lebanon

For more information about the programs and assistance offered by the New Hampshire International Trade Resource Center, visit www.exportNH.org or call Kasim at 603-271-8444.

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